Dare You To Death: Solve the Mystery, See the Death.
Investigation Part 8
Khamin closed the file after summarising everything in the database. He looked at his watch and saw that it was late afternoon. When he looked up at the person lying comfortably on the sofa, he could only sigh. He packed everything up before walking over to stand beside the couch.
"Mr Jade," the man with his arms crossed and a book covering his face was still lying there, motionless. Khamin decided to reach out and gently poke the thick arm under his tight-fitting black shirt. "Mr Jade, wake up."
“Five minutes.”
“No.” Khamin took out the book and saw that the person who asked for five minutes had his eyes open and was smiling as if he hadn’t slept at all. “Was it fun?”
“Relax, man.” Jade poked his index finger between Khamin’s furrowed eyebrows.
“They’re almost touching. I’ve been listening to you whining and complaining for hours, and I can’t sleep.”
"I told you to go back to your room and sleep."
“My room doesn't have a sofa.”
“And how do you receive guests?”
"I don't accept guests."
“So where do you usually sleep?”
“Sleep in the evidence room.” Khamin rolled his eyes again before walking over to grab the car keys on the table.
"I'm leaving. You can go or not; it's up to you."
Jade stood up and twisted to relieve his fatigue. Although the sofa was comfortable, his legs were too long, making it uncomfortable to sleep on.
“If I didn’t go with you, why would I be here soaking?”
“To annoy you, maybe?”
"I can do that all the time." Jade snatched the car keys from Khamin's hand before walking out of the room, leaving the new police officer to control his breathing so he wouldn't run off and throw the person in front of him.
“Are you going to find a kid named Cherene?”
"Um"
The two of them got into the car and headed straight to Cherene's house. Along the way, Khamin tried to contact the boy, but no matter how many times he called, the other party didn't answer.
“I don't accept.”
“Just call your parents.” Khamin didn’t take long to find Cherene’s parents’ numbers. Once he saw them, he immediately called the first number he found.
[hello]
"Hello, Mr Surasak. Is this Cherene's father?"
[Yes]
"I'm Inspector Khamin. I'd like to ask if Cherene is home."
[She's not here. She said she was going out to see a friend.]
Khamin turned to look at Jade's face and pointed to the stop on the side of the road.
“Did she tell you which friend?”
[Hmm...it seems like he's going to be the champion. I heard he's going to make merit for Pui Fai.]
"Okay." After finishing the business, Khamin hung up.
"How is it going?"
"You should go see Champ."
“So what next?”
"I'll call Champ," Khamin said, starting to call again. This time, he didn't wait long before the other end picked up.
[hello]
"I'm Inspector Khamin."
[...yes]
“Are you and Cherene together now?”
[Yes, she is with me.]
“Where are you? I have a few more questions to ask.”
[At the temple, let's make merit for Fai.]
"Wait there. I'll be right back," Khamin told Jade, the name of the temple he'd heard on the other end of the line before placing everything on his lap and closing his eyes.
Jade glanced slightly at the person beside him. From yesterday until today, the person beside him had never had the chance to sleep or rest his eyes. The serious expression from all that time had disappeared. Only traces of exhaustion remained. His large hand moved to adjust the air conditioning, lowering it so it wouldn't hit Khamin's face, then he drove to his destination without causing any disturbance, as before.
"So, who was the one who called?"
“It's me.”
“Like this.”
“Is that all you have to ask? Then we can go home.”
“Since the interrogation was over, has anyone else contacted your friend?”
"No"
"I... Tar just called me."
“Tar? What did he call about?”
“He called and complained about the prank letter.”
"The letter? What did he call and say? Please give me more details because I got information that Tar and Fai had problems before." Champ and Cherene looked at each other before Champ walked up to block the young woman's view.
"That matter was long ago. Fai doesn't hold a grudge anymore. As for Tar, he just complained that a letter was sent to him... He said it was a Truth or Dare letter." Jade frowned slightly. It was a game that kids played before someone died.
“Do you have anything else to say?”
“No, but he seemed a bit nervous. I thought he was just imagining it and didn’t pay attention to it.”
"So where is Tar now?"
"I don't know."
“Both of you go home. I’ll contact you to give your statement.”
Jade picked up the phone and called Tar as soon as he arrived at the car, but no matter how many times he called, the other party didn't answer.
“You don't accept it?”
"um"
“Do you think that child is involved in Pui Fai’s death?”
“Not sure. That letter seems too deliberate.”
“Let’s go visit their house. Maybe we can get some information.”
"Um"
It took Jade less than half an hour to drive to Tar's house. He felt a bad feeling and sped up faster than usual.
“You can drive fast.”
“Next time, tell me you’re in a hurry so I don’t have to worry about the ticket.”
Khamin sighed before going down to ring the doorbell. From what he saw through the fence, his gut told him the child didn't belong here.
"Hello. Is something wrong?"
"Hello, I'm a police officer. I'd like to see Tar."
“Oh my gosh, did my son do something wrong again?”
“I have a question for him. Is he home?”
“He just left recently.”
“Do you know who he went to see?”
“Probably his friends.”
“So, did he mention the letter or anything?”
“I saw him carry a letter up to his bedroom, but I don’t know what it was.”
"Thank you." Khamin walked back to the car and saw Jade s calling someone. The owner of the sharp eyes turned to look at him and raised an eyebrow, asking, "Not here?"
"Hello, Jay"
[How is it going?]
"Do you know where Tar likes to go or who he stays with?"
[Is that you, Tar? Why are you asking?]
"Answer me."
[At the Drink Me club. I go there often. What's going on, bro?]
“Nothing, that's it.”
[Wait a minute, brother!]
Jade flexed his muscles before driving to his destination. The sun was starting to disappear from the sky, so they had to hurry.
Inside a famous club in the province, many night owls were drinking and dancing wildly. The loud music makes people feel even more intoxicated. There is a zone here for large groups to celebrate various occasions, or for people who want privacy to do activities without being disturbed, like Tar's group right now.
"Holy shit, this is so good, bro. I'm so drunk."
"Really, if this lot sells out, I'll reserve it for you, right, Tar?" Tar was inhaling the white powder on the table without saying anything to anyone. "You keep it. What did you press? I haven’t seen anyone talk about anything today.”
"My story"
"Or are you repressing it because you can't let it out? Hahaha." Everyone in the room laughed in unison. They knew each other's personalities because they were the same type of people.
"If you're repressing it so much, go release it. I didn't hire a girl to have you sit and watch me do nothing," the boss-like man, who was smoking a cigarette with two young women sitting on his side, said before looking at Tar. "Or are you a coward?"
"I'm not," said Tar, who was drunk on drugs. He got up and took the woman's hand in the tight, fiery-red dress, leading her to her feet and following her out.
They both walked to a small storage room in a hidden spot of the club. Although it was called that, it was actually similar to a room that many people knew was often used for lovemaking.
“Um, slow down a bit.”
“Take off your clothes.”
“Do you have condoms?”
"Do not have"
“Wait, you can’t not wear it.”
“Can you stop being so picky? Just go take birth control pills.”
“Wait! Oh, no way! I have it in my bag. Let me… ah… let me get it first.” The girl tried to avoid the hand that was reaching into her skirt.
"Fuck! Hurry up!" Tar said in a bad mood. In addition to being stressed about Pui Fai's death, he also had to worry about the letter he had received. He needed to vent his anger on something. While waiting for the girl to get a condom, Tar picked up a cigarette and smoked it while kicking the water bucket below out of sight.
The sound of a door opening from behind made Tar turn to look, but instead of a young woman with a seductive figure, it was a person in a black robe, wearing a white mask that covered her face.
"Who the hell are you?" The man in the black robe, from head to toe, tilted his head slightly before spraying medicine into Tar's face. "What the hell is this?!"
Tar deflected a few times. He tried to fight back, but suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded. The cloaked people in front of him started multiplying from one to two, then from two to three. As he was about to fall, the mysterious person picked up a sharp iron rod and stabbed it into Tar's right palm, then stuck it into the wall.
“Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!” A shrill cry echoed throughout the storage room, but unfortunately, the music outside was much louder, and the people here were not interested in anything more than the alcohol and fun in front of them.
Another iron rod was picked up and held in his hand. There was a wire attached to the end, and along it were sharp blades welded together. Tar began to feel so scared that his body trembled. His eyes were bloodshot, and tears were streaming down his face. His lips started to ramble incoherently.
“Again, you… Who are you? Why are you doing this?” The man in front of him merely tilted his head to look before stabbing another spike into Tar’s hand. The young man’s body hung down as both his arms were pinned to the wall above his head.
“Truth or Tare,” the voice of the transformer rang out as the person holding the third iron bar began to sob even more.
“No, again. I don’t know. I’m not playing. Let me go. Sob.”
“Truth or Dare,” the same words kept repeating, no matter how much Tar tried to plead, but it was to no avail.
A third iron rod was stuck into Tar's thigh, causing blood to flow down its length and drip onto the floor slowly.
“Please, please, please.”
"Truth or Dare"
"Truth"
“Is it true that you drugged Fai?”
“Again, no… not true.” Tar shook his head in denial. “Aaaaahhhhhhh.”
A fourth iron rod was stuck into his free leg, and the pain began to spread and numb his entire body.
“Is it true that you drugged Fai?”
“Holy shit!!! It’s true!!! It’s true.”
“Is it true that you would rape Fai?”
“Is it true that you would rape Fai?”
"Is it true that you're going to rape Fai?" The question continued for a dozen more times, causing Tar to cry even harder. The loss of blood, combined with the hallucinations from the drugs, made him lose consciousness. Finally, he began to speak out.
"It's true, sob, it's true...but I didn't mean to, sob, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Tar repeated his apologies over a dozen times.
The masked man pulled out the last piece of steel from his back. Its centre was connected to the four steel rods stuck in Tar's legs and arms. It was slowly being rotated. The more it was rotated, the tighter the wires connected in the centre became. The blade slowly sliced into the flesh, bit by bit, until Tar cried out in pain.
A large amount of blood flowed down and pooled on the floor. The screams died down as his breathing became shallow. The blade stopped moving because it couldn't cut any further into the bone. The robed man dropped the iron rod in his hand and picked up a piece of black paper, along with a hammer and nails.
A piece of paper was placed against his broad forehead. Tar, who was half-asleep and nearly unconscious, shed his last tears of despair. The sound of hammering nails gradually grew louder, and the vibration on his forehead made the young man's eyes roll back until his last breath was taken with a whisper.